After an unprecedented suspension, Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, will return to ABC on Tuesday, September 23. Kimmel airs at 11:35 p.m. Eastern Time on weeknights, but if you don’t have cable, and you don’t ordinarily watch network TV, how can you even watch the show? While many tend to experience late-night shows via the YouTube clips the following day, the increased scrutiny around Jimmy Kimmel Live! might leave you wondering how you can watch this unusual comeback episode in real time.
Kimmel will also not return to ordinary broadcast stations in every single city. The Sinclair Broadcast Group will also continue to preempt Kimmel on Tuesday, which impacts more than 20 ABC affiliate stations. That said, streaming is generally a workaround for that kind of thing. But not always.
Here’s how to stream Jimmy Kimmel Live! without a regular cable subscription, with details on how each may or may not be impacted by local preempting.
Related: ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Set to Return to ABC — Find Out When
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Hulu streaming option
Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs on ABC, and as such, is part of a larger conglomerate owned by Disney. This means if you have Hulu+ Live TV, you can simply watch the show on Hulu. To be clear, Hulu+ Live TV isn’t a regular Hulu subscription and is similar to paying for basic cable. The baseline Hulu+ Live TV package costs $82.99 per month, after a 3-day free trial. This package also includes Disney+ and ESPN Select. So, if you wanted to sign up for a trial of Hulu+ Live TV and cancel after three days, that would let you watch the new Kimmel episode live.
That said, Hulu + Live TV sometimes pulls from local affiliates, so if Sinclair has preempted Kimmel in your area, this option may not work.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Fubo and Sling streaming options
You can also watch live TV streaming with services like Fubo or Sling. These subscriptions allow you to watch a variety of live TV channels without a cable subscription. Both have free trials. Fubo plans start at $79.90 per month. Sling plans start at $19.99 per month for 10 channels.
Sling generally does not pull from local affiliates, meaning, in theory, that service might not be affected by any preempting from Sinclair.
Related: ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Won’t Return in More Than 20 Cities — Here’s Where
Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube TV streaming option
Perhaps the simplest à la carte live TV option is YouTube TV. As the name implies, this is a YouTube account that also acts like a cable subscription. YouTube TV gives you access to hundreds of live network and cable channels, including ABC. YouTube TV costs $82.99 a month, but it usually costs $49.99 for the first two months.
YouTube TV may or may not be impacted by local distributors for live TV.
